Eevee’s starring role in Pokémon: Let’s Go was inspired by fan art

Over the last few years, the Pokémon series has gingerly offered the mostly Pikachu-occupied spotlight to a handful of other characters. Slowpoke and Magnemite got their own theme songs; Magikarp was granted not only a track, but a mobile game. With Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!, a new pair of Switch games coming from Game Freak, the series’s creators are giving another old face, Eevee, a fresh chance to impress. And according to longtime Pokémon developer Junichi Masuda, it’s all because of fan art.

As a callback to the old days of Pokémon, Pikachu is an obvious choice. Let’s Go, Pikachu! is already a nod to Pokémon Yellow, from its inclusion of the game’s original creature lineup and location to the...